LISTEN, my children, while the fire burns red and the shadows come and go like mighty giants, and I will tell you the story of Ta-ren-ya-wa-gon, the holder of the heavens, who afterwards became a mortal and was called Hiawatha, the wise man.

There came to his ears one day a great cry of distress, and when he looked from the entrance of the Happy Hunting-Grounds he saw a few men and women in the forest moaning with terror, for all their friends had been slain by mighty giants and fierce monsters. So he went quickly to their aid, and taking a little maiden by the hand, bade all follow whither she led. By paths known only to Ta-ren-ya-wa-gon, he conducted them to a cave near the mouth of a river,[1] and there he brought them food and bade them sleep.

[1] Oswego River.

When they had remained there many days Ta-ren-ya-wa-gon again took the maiden by the hand and led her toward the rising sun, and the few people who had been saved by his mercy followed gladly in the trail he pointed out. At last they ? 138 ? came where the great river[2] they had followed poured over some mighty rocks to the level of another river,[3] and here he told them to build a house in which they might dwell in peace. Many moons they remained there in happiness, and the little children who came to them grew to be strong men and handsome women. Then came Ta-ren-ya-wa-gon and said to them:

[2] Mohawk River.

[3] Hudson River.

"You, my children, must now go forth and become mighty nations; and I will teach you the mysteries of the forests and make your numbers like the leaves that cover the trees when the warm days have come."

Then they followed him toward the setting-sun, and when they had gone some distance he told off certain numbers and families that should make their homes and build a village in that place. These he gave corn, beans, squash, potatoes and tobacco, and also dogs with which to hunt game, and named them Te-ha-wro-gah.[4] From that time they could not understand their brothers, and they dwelt henceforward on the banks of the beautiful river.

[4] Divided speech; the Mohawks.

Then went he with the others towards the sun-setting till at last they halted in a broad valley where were beautiful streams. And he bade some ? 139 ? of his followers remain there, and gave the same good gifts he had given their brothers and told them that they should be called Ne-ha-wre-ta-go,[5] for the trees of the forest were of great size where he bade them dwell, and in a short time these had also learned to speak a new tongue.

[5] The Oneidas.

Then Ta-ren-ya-wa-gon led the rest of his people onward toward the sun-setting till they came to a mountain which he called O-nun-da-ga-o-no-ga.[6] There he again commanded some of his people to remain, and he gave into their possession the same gifts he had confided to the care of his other children, and called them Se-uh-no-wah-ah-tah.[7] To these he gave his own language.

[6] Onondaga; on the hills.

[7] Carrying the name; the Onondagas.

Many days journey toward the sunset, near the shores of a lake named Go-yo-gah,[8] he selected a dwelling-place for others of his children and bade them build a village and left them provided with all good things. These he called Sho-nea-na-we-to-wah;[9] and their language was also changed.

[8] Mountain rising from the water; the Cayugas.

[9] People of the great pipe.

Then with those who remained Ta-ren-ya-wa-gon continued toward the sunset until they came to a mountain near the lake called Ga-nun-da-gwa, ? 140 ?[10] and here he told them they should dwell. And he gave to them the name Te-ho-ne-noy-hent,[11] and changed their language as he had done that of their brothers and bestowed upon them the same gifts for their food.

[10] Canandaigua; the place chosen for settlement.

[11] Possessing the door; the Senecas.

But there were some who were not content to stay where the holder of the heavens had bidden them to live and who ran away toward the setting-sun many days until they came to a great river which they crossed on a wild grape vine. But when the last ones were crossing, the vine broke and none could ever return.[12]

[12] This refers to the Indians beyond the Mississippi.

Then the holder of the heavens gave his time to the instruction of his children, and to each family he imparted some distinctive skill. To the Senecas he gave the power of swift feet, and they could soon outrun any animal in the forest. The Cayugas became skilled in the use of the canoe, and glided over the waters more rapidly than the skimming birds or darting fish. The Onondagas were instructed in all the laws and wishes of the Great Spirit and had power to speak his mind. The Oneidas became skilful in ways of making weapons, of the building of houses and the weaving of baskets. ? 141 ? The Mohawks were taught to shoot their arrows with surer aim than all the others, and could snare the fish from the streams with wondrous skill.

You, my children, must know that Ta-ren-ya-wa-gon, the holder of the heavens, had power to assume any shape, and that he could fly from one place to another, far distant, more rapidly than the great eagle. He taught his people the knowledge of hunting and gardening; he fashioned arrow-heads from the flint and guided the hands of his children until they, too, could make them; he gave instruction in the arts of war, that they might defend themselves; he cleared their streams from obstructions and pointed out the water path[13] from the sun-rising to the sun-setting. He taught them the form of poisonous fruits and plants, giving them to eat of those that were wholesome; he taught them how to kill and dress their game; made the forest free for the tribes to hunt in, and gave them laws and precepts to guide them in the treatment of both the young and the old.

[13] The "water path" was up the Mohawk River to Rome, over a short portage to Wood Creek, thence to Oneida Lake, down the Oswegp River to Seneca River, and thence westward over the chain of lakes in the interior of the State of New York. If the journey was to be to the far west, the Oswego River was taken to Lake Ontario and thence through the chain of great lakes.

Then Ta-ren-ya-wa-gon determined to reside with his children, and he assumed the form of a ? 142 ? man and chose as a wife a maiden from the Onondagas. When he had done this he was named Hiawatha. His home was on the shores of a beautiful lake,[14] and to it came many of the red men and their wives and children, that they might learn from the wise Hiawatha how their lives should be guided. To his wigwam came also a daughter, whose beauty was as the flowers, glistening with the dews of night and kissed by the light of the Great Spirit\'s smiling face. The name of the daughter was Minnehaha.

[14] Cross Lake, Cayuga County, New York. A very romantic and beautiful point on the southern shores of this little body of water is pointed out by the Indians as the site of Hiawatha\'s home.

Many seasons passed. Under the teachings of Hiawatha the Onondagas became the greatest of all nations. The wise man came in his magic canoe of dazzling whiteness and sat at all their councils, and by his wisdom and moderation the tribe was preserved from strife and became foremost in the arts an............